Borussia Dortmund slipped out of the Bundesliga top four with a damaging 4-2 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Looking to end a miserable week on a high, Borussia Dortmund made a poor start to the game, and Mönchengladbach had the ball in the net inside the opening minute. But the goal was ruled out after Jude Bellingham was fouled in the build-up. Gladbach did not have to wait long for the opener to arrive, with Nico Elvedi taking advantage of some non-existent defending from a set-piece.
The goal finally woke Borussia Dortmund up, and Erling Haaland responded by turning the game on its head. Two fantastic finishes from the Norwegian international helped Dortmund take the lead. But Elvedi found the net from another set-piece to bring Gladbach level soon after. The second half was all Marco Rose’s side, as Ramy Bensebaini and Marcus Thuram scored to seal a well-earned 4-2 win.
Here are our player ratings for the Borussia Dortmund players from the game.
Roman Bürki (3.5/10)
Bürki capped off a below-average week with another poor performance. He never looked assured in goal and will feel that he should have done better with at least two of the four goals. His lack of command in the penalty area was telling once again as Borussia Dortmund conceded three set-piece goals.
Mateu Morey (5.5/10)
Morey had a bit of a mixed bag of a game. He did well to stop a couple of Gladbach counter attacks and also made some good forward runs. But he did leave a bit too much space at times defensively, including in the second half before Bensebaini’s goal. But there were more positives than negatives from his performance.
Manuel Akanji (4.5/10)
Akanji made a vital interception that led to Dortmund’s equaliser. He then came close to making it 2-1 just minutes later. But he had a really poor giveaway in the second half which led to a glorious chance for Plea, and that wasn’t the only time he was caught being sloppy in defence. His positioning wasn’t always the best either.
Mats Hummels (4.5/10)
Hummels got caught ball-watching and played Elvedi onside for Gladbach’s opener. He made a few poor passes in Dortmund’s build-up play and had a some rough moments against the dangerous Gladbach forwards.
Hummels and Akanji both look really fatigued at this point after being overused in the first half of the season. And with Dan-Axel Zagadou still injured, Borussia Dortmund must sign a defender before the transfer window closes.
Raphael Guerreiro (5/10)
Guerreiro forced a save from Sommer just before Gladbach made it 4-2. He got into some good positions, but wasn’t able to make the difference for Dortmund.
Emre Can (5/10)
Can had a shot cleared off the line in the first half with the scores level at 1-1. He was always looking to move the game forward quickly, and helped start a number of Dortmund attacks in the first half. But he did struggle at times to cope with Gladbach’s midfield threat. He should have also offered more of a challenge to Marcus Thuram for his goal which sealed the win for Gladbach.
Jude Bellingham (6.5/10)
Bellingham played with his usual energy and got plenty of chances to make forward runs. He looked a little sloppy at the start, but improved as the game went on. He was heavily involved in Borussia Dortmund’s second goal, from winning the ball back, to playing it forward to Jadon Sancho. The 17 year old also made an impressive last ditch challenge to stop Plea from scoring Gladbach’s fourth.
Jadon Sancho (7/10)
Sancho did really well to set up the two goals for Haaland. He had a great chance to restore Dortmund’s advantage in the 40th minute, but his shot went just wide of goal. He was not as involved after the break.
Marco Reus (4.5/10)
Reus had a rough evening against his former club and struggled to make much of an impact on the game. He also made the silly error of jumping out of the way of the free-kick which led to Gladbach’s equaliser. The fact that he was subbed off with Dortmund chasing the game tells you all you need to know about his performance. Despite struggling, he did set up a really good chance for Sancho in the 40th minute, which the Englishman should have buried.
Julian Brandt (6/10)
Brandt looked confident and had some really good moments going forward, apart from a second half attack when he killed a really good move by overhitting his pass while trying to find Sancho in space. He also let Bensebaini beat him way too easily for the goal that gave Gladbach the lead. Both actions played a significant role in the result, and the German play-maker will no doubt be disappointed with that.
Erling Haaland (7.5/10)
Haaland got Borussia Dortmund back in front with two excellent finishes in the first half. He had a decent chance to complete his hat-trick and make it 3-2 on the stroke of half-time, but scuffed that opportunity. He was hardly involved after the break.
Gio Reyna (N/R)
Reyna had some good touches going forward after coming on in place of Marco Reus. Most notably, he set up a chance for Raphael Guerreiro, who was denied by Yann Sommer just before Gladbach scored their fourth.
Youssoufa Moukoko (N/R)
Moukoko only touched the ball twice after coming on, but still managed to force Sommer into a fine save late in the game.
Steffen Tigges (N/R)
Tigges did not make any significant impact on the game after coming on.